How to unstink smelly running shoes?

liamo

Hi all,

I have a pair of running shoes that are nearing the end of their useful working life but they've got a bit of life left in them yet.

A few days ago I ran a multi-terrain race that involved mud, fresh water, sand and salt water. After leaving them to ferment for a day I ran them under a shower and gave them a bit of a scrub with a brush and thought that was the end of it. However ......

I am blessed with a very poor sense of smell. Not so with Mrs Liamo who brought my attention to a very unsavoury aroma emanating from my drying shoes.

Armed with the mind-sharpening benefits of a bottle of wine I decided that Mr Muscle Bathroom was, of course, the best solution to my problem.

Time passes ........

Liamo and shoes now stink of Mr Muscle Bathroom. Mrs Liamo can't tell if shoes are smelly anymore because she is faint from Mr Muscle fumes.

Until the shoes (now banished to the garage) have dried, I don't know if my cunning plan has worked or not.

My question is : do all running shoes eventually end up terminally smelly? Or can they be saved through the application of some clever anti-bacterial shoe shampoo that I am as yet unaware of? Or is it time to stick them in the washing machine and consign them to a future as casual wear?

Regards,

Liam

Krusty_Clown

Scholl do a shoe spray, (like a deoderant for shoes, called shoe-spray). Quick spray after a run, and you're sorted.

Isn't Mr Muscle for cleaning ovens?!

liamo

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Scholl do a shoe spray, (like a deoderant for shoes, called shoe-spray). Quick spray after a run, and you're sorted.

Great. I'll keep an eye out for that. Thanks.

Isn't Mr Muscle for cleaning ovens?!

That's really what I needed - a heart attack to go with my hangover!! After a brief moment of panic I can confirm that this is what I used. While it wasn't designed for the use I put it to last night in a moment of Einstein-like brilliance, at least it's not likely to dissolve my feet.

Regards

Liam

listermint

leave a small bit of baking soda in each runner in a wee container. should eat up the smell

listermint

ya

MCOS

If you use the same runners all the time think about investing in a couple of pairs and rotate them. Runners need to breathe and bounce back

+1 with KC the scholl stuff is good

liamo

MCOS wrote: »

If you use the same runners all the time think about investing in a couple of pairs and rotate them. Runners need to breathe and bounce back.

Yes. I have a couple of pairs but one pair is slightly more comfortable than the other so, of course, that's the pair that get worn all the time.
I'll start to rotate them as you suggest. Thanks.

tuisginideach

I have a pair of Brooks Glycerin walking shoes - worn every couple of days but not daily - they're 15 months old - they suddenly have started to stink! I'm a casual walker. Would I destroy them if I threw them in washing machine?
Thanks

JohnnyChimpo

lads, you can wash shoes…

Just take out the laces and insoles and don't wash them too warm

Dial Hard

I'll probably be lynched for this, but I stick my runners in the machine, inside a pillowcase on a hand-wash cycle. If you've a couple of lightly-used towels that also need a wash, throw them in too for extra padding.

Edit: I also washed my wedding dress like this and there wasn't a bother on it. Not that I would have particularly cared if there was, it's not like I was ever going to wear it again.

Second edit: FFS, have just realised this thread is 17 years old 🙄🙄🙄

penno

I've a pair like this. Woeful smell of 'cats piss' off them, yet none of my other runners smell like this newer pair, the others all smell OKish. Shame as they are so comfy to wear but honk badly after they warm up while in use. Personally I think its the textiles they use and not my feet that's to blame!

Remedy;… don't wear them, keep and admire from a distance. No heat, no smell.

Murph_D

Do you have a cat? May have answered your own question!

ShadowSA

If the runners are old, throw them in a bra zip bag and put them in the washing machine with some towels to pad them. Quick wash cycle.

Stuff newspapers in them and put them in the sun or infront of the fire to dry out.

GoHardOrGoHome

The Zombie thread lives!

I use this dryer. If your shoes are soaked from rain and puddles it's brilliant but even just to make them dry after sweating. What I also do (because my tennis shoes absolutely reeked) is spray some vinegar in first. Seems to work really well and weirdly doesn't smell like vinegar. You can buy empty spray bottles and then buy a cheap 5 litre container of vinegar.